From the novel “Hello, sadness”, the brief content of which is presented in this article, the creative path of the French writer Francoise Sagan began. The work was published in 1954. It was a brilliant success with both critics and readers.
about the author
When it comes to the work of Sagan, I recall first of all "Hello, sadness." The summary of the novel should be known, but it is better, of course, to read it in full. After all, this is one of the most famous works of the XX century. Before giving a brief summary of "Hello, sadness," it’s worth a few words to say about the author.
Francoise Sagan was born in 1935. At the age of 19, she gained fame not only in France but also abroad, thanks to the work to which this article is devoted. The plot of the novel “Hello, sadness”, the summary of which is set out below, is based on a rather simple story. But this work shocked the public. The writer, despite her young age, showed a subtle observation, knowledge of human psychology.
Other works by Sagan are “The Lost Profile”, “Do You Love Brahms?”, “A Little Sun in Cold Water”, “Painted Lady”. Her works have been translated into 30 languages. Despite the enormous fees, Francoise Sagan spent the last years of her life in poverty. The writer did not like to save, moreover, like many other talented creative personalities, she abused alcohol. The French writer passed away in 2004.
Outline “Hello, Sadness”
Francoise Sagan called herself a "playgirl." All that she did, she did intuitively, at the call of her heart. At the age of 18, she failed the entrance exams at the Sorbonne, and instead wrote the novel “Hello, Sadness”. A summary of the chapters can be summarized as follows:
- Cecile and Ramon.
- Anna.
- Acquaintance with Cyril.
- The salvation of the father.
- The death of Anna.
- Sadness.
A very brief retelling of "Hello, sadness" Sagan: a frivolous girl started a game that led to tragedy. The following describes the events that occurred with the heroes of the novel, in more detail. The work of the young writer was once met with a flurry of critical articles. Resonance in society caused, of course, the young age of the author. But not only him. What struck critics and readers in the book of Sagan? We will talk about this later. And first - a brief summary of "Hello, sadness" F. Sagan.
Cecile and Ramon
The novel takes place in the fifties. The main character is a girl named Cecile. She was born in a wealthy family, studied in a Catholic boarding school. Mother Cecile is dead. After leaving the boarding school, the girl lives with her father, a man who is still young, cheerful, who prefers societies of cheerful, although not very educated and intelligent people. Both Cecile and her youthful father look at life too frivolously. The man regularly makes lovers, which does not bother his daughter. On the contrary, a girl is quite happy with such a life, full of entertainment and empty talk.
Anna
The main events take place on the Cote d'Azur. The main character turns 17 years old. She and her father leave for the sea. Along with them is the frivolous young lover of Raymond Elsa. Everything is going well. But suddenly, Cecile learns that her father is expecting Anna, the friend of her dead mother. The girl treats her well, but the news does not please her at all.
Anna is a right, refined, very serious woman. Once she was the one who instilled in Cecile a good taste, taught to dress, to behave in society. However, Cecile is poorly aware of how the communication of Anna and Elsa will look. After all, the latter is a limited person, frivolous, chirping incessantly, and is interested exclusively in secular news. These women are unlikely to find a common language. In addition, Cecile understands that with the arrival of Anna, serene, full of delight days will end. The girl is not mistaken in her guesses.
Ramon and Elsa go to the station to meet the guest. But the unexpected happens. After waiting there for a while, they return. It turns out that Anna arrived in her own car. It is located in one of the rooms. The first days in the resort life, Cecile does not change anything. In addition, Anna, being a smart and tactful woman, calmly listens to Elsa's stupid chatter, which deserves the thanks of Raymond.
Acquaintance with Cyril
On the beach, Cecile once meets a young man. His name is Cyril. Together they sunbathe, swim, ride a sailboat. The atmosphere in the house, meanwhile, is heating up. The fact is that Raymond suddenly becomes interested in Anna. The frivolous Elsa of him, a man who, it would seem, was not created for a serious relationship, begins to annoy. In the end, an affair begins between Anna and Raymond. Elsa is leaving. Father soon gives Cecile the news: he is going to marry Anna.
Cecile treats Anna well. However, the girl understands that after the marriage of her father, her life will change dramatically. There is no doubt that this woman will put an end to the frivolous lifestyle that she and her father lead.
Cecile is increasingly found with Cyril. The girl is ready for physical intimacy, although she does not like a young man at all. Once Anna finds her future stepdaughter in the company of Cyril and realizes that the relations of these young people are by no means platonic. A woman asks him to leave the house. Cecile convinces of the need to prepare for the upcoming exam in philosophy. All this depresses the main character a lot. And suddenly a plan comes to her mind, the implementation of which will save from tight control and return everything to normal.
Father's salvation
Once, for his things, Elsa is at the house of Raymond and Cecile. Then the main character dedicates her to her plan. This plan is to cause jealousy in the father. If Elsa will spend a lot of time in front of him in front of Cyril, she will offend his male vanity. Ramon decides to return Elsa, which Anna will not forgive him. Cecile convinces her father’s ex-lover that he still loves her. Elsa, not inclined to analyze what is happening, easily believes, and she likes the idea of ​​"saving" Raymond.
Everything goes as if on notes. Cecile's plan is successful. It’s easy to make jealous of Raymond, and Elsa easily copes with this task. A man sees his former mistress in the company of a young man and decides to return her. At least temporarily, just to assert itself. Cecile begins to realize that she is playing with fire: betraying Raymond will be a hard blow for Anna. But it’s difficult for a girl to stop the mechanism that she started. In addition, she is too keen on the role of the director in this dangerous game.
The death of Anna
The ending of the famous novel by Francoise Sagan is tragic. Anna learns of Reiman's betrayal. In tears, she leaves the house. Cecile tries to stop her, but she does not want to listen to anything. Anna gets into the car and drives off.
This evening, father and daughter spend together. They understand that they did wrong with Anna, and decide to write her a letter. But then a phone rings. Police call: Anna crashed in a car. Ramon and Cecile go to the scene. On the way, the girl realizes that Anna rendered them invaluable service. She made it possible to believe in an accident.
Sadness
A year passes. Ramon and Cecile, it would seem, forgot about the tragedy that happened last summer. They still burn their lives: they live for their pleasure, surrounded by secular and empty people. But at times Cecile becomes very sad. This is a strange feeling. A feeling that Cecile had not previously known. This is a summary.
“Hello, sadness” Sagan wrote, one might say, with her heart, because she transferred all feelings and thoughts to the pages of her works. She impressed readers with unprecedented courage, the depth of thoughts about life. But what more than anything else in her novel resonated with readers?
“Hello, Sadness” novel by Francoise Sagan: analysis
The novel, which turned Sagan into a literary star in the early fifties, tells about the experiences of a seventeen-year-old girl. Young people are characterized by naivety, idealism. But in the work of Sagan there is none of this.
An important fact is that Cecile studied at a Catholic boarding school. In such educational institutions, the conditions were rather strict, if not severe. Pupils of the boarding school received not only certain knowledge, but also due moral education. And one of them, without embarrassment, tells on the pages of her book about dreams of physical intimacy, that communicating with beautiful, albeit stupid people, brings much more pleasure than with deep, meaningful personalities. In the words of her main character - a shocking frankness. There is not a drop of hypocrisy and ostentatious decency in them - all that is inherent in the representatives of the world to which the heroes of the novel belong.